Tide rolls back into national title picture

Alabama reasserted its position in the SEC with a dominating performance in a 38-10 rout of Georgia, the Crimson Tide’s biggest margin of victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 10 in program history.

Florida emerged as a contender in the SEC East after being picked to finish fifth in the division with its 38-10 dismantling of previously unbeaten Mississippi.

And Tennessee failed to hold onto another double-digit lead, losing 24-20 to Arkansas at home yet, and suddenly those trendy preseason picks favoring the Vols for the East title look pretty shaky.

And this on just the first Saturday in October.

Of those three developments, the Gators’ performance probably is the most surprising.

With a new coach and a young team, they didn’t figure to do much at all this season, but with Georgia’s loss to Alabama, they are the only team in the East that has yet to lose.

Of course, a huge challenge is coming up.

After a trip to Missouri, which looked like a revived team after getting its running game going in a 24-10 victory over South Carolina, the Gators play LSU in Baton Rouge and then take a week off before meeting Georgia in their annual clash in Jacksonville on Halloween.

First-year coach Jim McElwain’s players also are facing the challenge of handling their new-found success. Are they up to it, or will they encounter the same kind of tumble Ole Miss apparently has taken since its mid-September win at Alabama? (The Rebels struggled in their win over Vanderbilt before the debacle in Gainesville.)

“We’ll find out,” McElwain said. “It’s new, and yet, I’m kind of excited about it. That’s a good thing. Yippee.”

Meanwhile, Alabama showed it has recovered from its loss to Ole Miss with its domination at Georgia. The Tide is lurking right behind undefeated LSU and Texas A&M in the West.

“I think we’ve improved,” Tide coach Nick Saban said of his team. “I think we’re getting better. I think it’s one game. I think we have to show that we can play with consistency. I don’t think we finished the game like we needed to, which is something we need to learn from.”

The Tide is in a much better spot than Tennessee. The Vols fell to 0-2 in the East with their loss to Arkansas, which entered the game in Knoxville on a three-game losing streak.

“I love these kids and our character’s being tested,” Vols coach Butch Jones said. “Our competitive character is being tested. Our fortitude’s being tested. All you can do is keep working and work your way through it. I don’t know. The opportunities are there. We just have to go make them.”